Why am I able to log in one one computer but not another?

[Stinky The Clown]

I can obviously connect to DU and post from this computer. I just tried to do it on three other computers and all connect just fine.

The one computer I use to connect all the time, however, won't connect. It loads other pages, but not DU.

It is a Windoze computer running XPSP2 and I use Firefox. But Safari and IE will not connect either.

[Ian David]

1. It's puzzling. I've never seen anything quite like it before.

[spanone]

10. open the pod bay doors, hal

[islandmkl]

2. proceed immediately to Best Buy, go to the Geek Squad desk...

tell them your problem...give them several minutes...

"You need a new computer. They are over there starting in aisle 4."

[gratuitous]

3. Alberto Gonzales

Trilateral Commission. G20 Summit.

I can't say anymore, but a nod's as good as a wink to a blind man. "Le chevalier frappe a minuit."

:hide:

[TwilightZone]

4. DU could be blocked in the Windows hosts file.

I do that intentionally once in a while to take a break from this place.

The hosts file is called "hosts" and is located in: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

Open it with Notepad and see if there's a line including DU's web site address. If so, remove the line and close the hosts file, saving the changes.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Nope .... but that's an interesting tip.

You could use that to block someone from using a given computer to log on to given web sites, right?

[TwilightZone]

12. Yes.

Here's a good article about it, along with some sample host files that block most ads, banners, etc: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Many computer users don't even know that it exists, so it's an easy way to block sites that many users won't know how to override.

[cliffordu]

5. well, garsh...Maybe if you're logged in on one computer you can't log in on another

otherwise you'd have multiple instance of you running around.

I guess you could create new user accounts on each machine and stay logged in all the time as three people....

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Actually, du seems to allow that.

I am often logged in from more than one computer. Add in my cell phone and I can be logged in from there, too.

[cliffordu]

14. Hmm....Whodathunkit.....

I figured logins were controlled by cookies...

I guess any user ID could have an array of cookies.....

:rofl:

Sorry, where was I??

I wonder what would happen if you were trolling one of your other instances, say, and started a flamewar with yourself.....then one of your instances got banned....

[Stinky The Clown]

21. I can log on from anywhere. But I only have one username

There have been times when I use my office computer to start a thread and make my replies in my reference table computer and add more from my laptop .... all while still logged it to all of them at once. But for all of them, there is still only one Stinky. And, with Stinkies, that's more than enough.

[cliffordu]

25. As well we know my friend...

:hi:

I dunno what the problem is... :shrug:

[ginnyinWI]

9. I had that problem.

I got home from my son's house and couldn't log in. Called him and had him log me out over there, and the problem was solved.

[RebelOne]

22. I stay logged on with one user name from both my home

and work computers. I have the DU page open just about 24/7 on both my Mac at the office and my PC at home.

[Nite Owl]

6. Firewall setting?

just a guess.

Ask over at the computer forum, they know everything over there.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=242

[EarlG]

11. Perhaps one of our servers is glitching

There were some connectivity problems last night.

When you connect to www.democraticunderground.com you're randomly pointed at one of our front-end servers. So on one of your computers you might be pointed at upload.democraticunderground.com, but on the other you might be pointed at sync.democraticunderground.com. If one of those servers isn't working properly, you'll get the problem you described.

See if you can browse upload.democraticunderground.com on both computers. If you can, then the problem is at our end. If you can't, then it's at your end.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. I can get on to both your upload. and your sync.

What I see is the front page in both instances.

I did this from four computers including the one that would not connect.

[FormerDittoHead]

13. Allow cookies. n/t

[mainer]

15. This happens to me too. Another computer goes to a DIFFERENT site.

It's also at www.democraticunderground.com, but it tells me that the domain is available for purchase!

[MiniMe]

16. Sounds like that computer has been hijacked

[TwilightZone]

17. Sounds like spyware or malware.

Something is intercepting the web site requests and sending them elsewhere.

Try Malware Bytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

The free version is all you should need.

Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with Malware Bytes. Just know that it's free and it usually works!

[eleny]

19. I'm having a problem, too

I have to login each time I shut DU down and then return. Elad advised me that it's a cookies problem, or firewall or security software. I haven't been able to track it down yet.

I also use XP and Firefox and it has DU in Tools>Options>Privacy window as a cookie that's acceptable. I can't find where XP is making the cookie expire.

Zone Alarm updated the other day but I don't know how it could be blocking DU.
I also use AVG and can't find where it might be dealing with the cookie, either.

Good luck to us.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. For what it may be worth .......

.... I am now connecting from the formerly recalcitrant computer. Here's what happened.

It blue screened. (This, I think, is unrelated, but anyway ..... )

I restarted in Safe Mode.

I shut down and restarted normally.

I opened Firefox and cleared my history.

I shut Windows down and restarted

I opened Firefox

I was able to connect.



Now ...... here's an odd thing ...... my bookmark to DU didn't work. I deleted it and moused my way to DU and logged in again. I went to Greatest Page (my normal DU starting point) and set a new book mark.

Apart from having lost all my history (no big deal), all seems to again be working.

I think this is related to what Elad reported, upthread.

[eleny]

23. Thanks - I've just deleted my old bookmark to DU....

Then created a new one taking me directly to the Discussions - same as the previous. But I was able to close DU and return without having to login. I'll see if this works tomorrow morning.

Thanks for that tip. I didn't think of trying that.

The thing is, I'm having the same problem with the laptop. So I wonder if it has anything to do with the recent updates to Firefox, Zone Alarm and AVG. A lot happened at once. When I boot up the laptop later I'm going to redo the bookmark there, too.

I also looked at that Windows file that someone suggested upthread. I couldn't find DU when I opened the file in Notepad, either.

One more thing, I can be logged into DU on my desktop as well as laptop. But I can only post to DU from the computer that logged into DU first.

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

24. You know how I log on and stay on problem-free ...... ?

..... I use one of the Macs! :)

Were it not for two things, Windows would be fully gone from here:

I need to run AutoCAD. It will only run on Windows.

Our Blackberries do not play well with Macs, so we're stuck with Outlook for calenders, addresses, and to-do lists




By the way, I can be logged on to DU from every computer in the house - PC or Mac - and post from any one of them at any time. This has been the case since day one for us.